A 14-Year-Old Figured Out the Government Could Save $370 Million a Year . . . By Switching Fonts?

If you did a science fair project as a kid, chances are it was something like a potato-powered clock, or a baking soda volcano. But a 14-year-old from Pittsburgh named Suvir Mirchandani might have actually done something USEFUL.

Suvir found out that printer ink can cost almost twice as much as Chanel Number 5: $75 per ounce, compared to $38 for the perfume.

So for his middle school science fair this year, he decided to analyze the different FONTS people use when they print stuff out.

And he calculated that if his school district stopped using Times New Roman, and used a slimmer font like Garamond, it could save them $21,000 A YEAR.

Then a group of experts looked at the data and realized that if the federal government did the same, it would save $136 MILLION a year in taxpayer money. Plus another $234 million if state governments did it. So, $370 million total.

The government LOVES wasting money though. So we'll see if it happens. But in the meantime, you can do it yourself and save almost 30% on ink every year. (CNN)